ABOUT ME

          Owen B Greenwald's passion for writing began in fourth grade, when a school writing assignment got out of hand. He turned in a swashbuckling, satirical adventure story, inspired by the Zelda video game series. The story featured himself as the main character, his motorcycle-riding grandmother as the true hero, and an evil slug named Morris. After he read it to the class, his teacher pulled him aside. “You’d better grow up to be a writer,” said the teacher, “or I’ll kick your ass.”

 

          (It was the sort of school where interactions like that were commonplace. In my mind, it’s the exact sort of encouragement many fourth-graders need.)

 

          Owen kept writing as he grew up—though in hindsight, he wishes he’d done more of the first and less of the second. Along the way, he wandered into other creative disciplines. He found a second love in theatre, where the stories written on paper could spring out and come to life and the joy of seeing people entertained came much closer on the heels of the work you’d put in. From theatre, he discovered Victorian reenactment: a whole other world of top hats and tailcoats, almost entirely removed from the mundane (and often traumatizing) realities of high school. There is perhaps not a creative soul alive who can feel nourished within the American public school system; Owen found plenty of nourishment in pretending he’d been transported centuries back in time and trying to approximate received pronunciation. His time in the reenactment scene led to an interest in vintage dance, which remains one of his great joys—and is to blame whenever one of his stories includes a gratuitous ballroom scene. 

 

          In the meantime, he was constantly reading: at home, in class, even (a few times, during particularly tense scenes) while riding his bike. He was moved and humbled by the inspirational works of Sanderson, Rothfuss, and Allston. At the same time, he soaked up author autobiographies from writers such as Bill Peet and Sid Fleischman. 

 

          He attended Brown University, graduating with honors and two degrees in literary arts and writing for performance. While there, he brought his love for writing and theatre together in Midsummer Night, an interrogation of (and love letter to) William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Midsummer Night received Brown University’s Weston award. Owen also wrote the Big Bet series on contract with EPIC Press over the course of his senior year, drawing on his love of heist stories, wisecracks, and hidden depth.

 

          After graduating, he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area. His heart had never left, after all. Besides, what better place to attempt a low-earning creative career than one of the most expensive areas in the country? His lifelong friend Paul Kivelson thought similarly, and so they decided to write a novel together. This decision was treated much more casually than it should have been. Somehow, the friendship survived, and their novel Weapons Of The Mind is set for release in February 2024. 

 

          These days, Owen spends a lot of time in the kitchen, experimenting with all kinds of dishes and attempting to perfect his hors d'oeuvre formula. He has frequent board game nights, auditions for community shows, regularly attends costume balls, takes on numerous side projects, and occasionally—very occasionally, when the stars align—writes.

 

          (Until Kubo pushes the laptop closed and demands attention.)

 

          One side project of note is the fanmade Fire Emblem board game Anna’s Roundtable. Owen is the lead designer of the game’s expansion, which is currently going through beta testing and scheduled for release in late 2023. As a lover of all things tactical. Owen is thrilled to have the chance to help create that same experience for others.

 

          Owen is excited to see the next chapter of his writing journey unfold, and what stories he finds within himself along the way. He believes the world runs on stories, and in the subtle, remarkable power they hold. Stories can inspire us, teach us, reveal ourselves and our natures, challenge and topple existing hierarchies. They sweeten the most bitter philosophical pills. They allow us to step outside our skin and walk the world—or other worlds—in the mind of a stranger. 

 

           And as long as Owen keeps telling stories, his ass will remain unkicked. 

 

 

          CURRENTLY WATCHING: Ahsoka

          CURRENTLY PLAYING: The Witcher 3